Supply and Demand Matching of Public Service Facilities from a Multilevel Perspective: A Case Study of Jiangsu Province, China

Against the backdrop of rapid urbanization, the rational spatial distribution and supply-demand matching of public service facilities (PSFs) are critical for enhancing residents’ well-being and achieving regional sustainable development. Existing studies have largely focused on a single PSF or spatial level, overlooking the interactions and coupling mechanisms among different PSFs and administrative levels. This study constructed a multilevel analytical framework encompassing the province, city, and county based on point of interest and population density data, combined kernel density analysis, standard deviation ellipse, supply-demand matching, and coupling coordination model, to systematically identify the spatial supply-demand characteristics of four types of PSFs (education, transportation, elderly care, and healthcare) in Jiangsu Province. The results reveal that (1) the spatial distribution of PSFs in Jiangsu Province is significantly unbalanced, and both the facilities and the population exhibit a spatial pattern of being “denser in the south and sparser in the north.” (2) Supply-demand matching indicates relatively high levels of alignment in most southern cities and the core urban areas of northern Jiangsu. In contrast, most northern counties exhibit relatively low levels of matching. (3) The spatial distribution of facility supply, population density, and supply-demand coupling at the city level shows a strong spatial correlation. The analytical framework and method system proposed in this study offer a replicable technical pathway and quantitative basis for optimizing the spatial layout of PSFs, enabling targeted resource allocation and planning decisions across diverse development contexts.